The gamification toolkit

Resources

If you’re reading this, you’re probably aware that gamification is the application of game mechanics to typically less fun contexts to allow for superior user engagement, but you obviously need to know more than just this to effectively implement it. Technically, Virgil Hilts bouncing a ball against the cooler wall counts as using game mechanics to pass the time in solitary confinement,  but that’s not going to cut it for your modern day, capitalist goals-oriented gamification project, is it?

You need more to get customers to pay attention to your marketing content. You need more to engage employees in learning the latest legislation that’s pertinent to their jobs. You need more to effectively sift through job applicants and shorten the hiring cycle. But coding knowledge? A bottomless war chest to invest and develop? External contractors? Building a game from scratch, maybe having it not work, then moving onto mark 2? No no no no no no… you need some kind of… toolkit… a gamification toolkit to be precise.

This is where Drimify comes to the rescue. Our gamification platform, with optional agency services, gives you the toolkit you need to create and launch gamification projects quickly, and easily, regardless of your technical know-how. The Drimify gamification platform is designed to make gamification accessible to all businesses, regardless of their size.

The gamification toolkit essentials

What are the hammers and spanners that allow you to put together a compelling gamification experience then? As already discussed, gamification is the application of gaming mechanics and design elements that can encourage user engagement across different areas where motivation can be found wanting, areas where getting the most out of a target user can prove to be a challenge. Typically, you’re aping a lot of what makes a video game successful by delivering a digital experience that people can interact with through their mobile, tablet computer, or their desktop or laptop.

From the perspective of using a gamification platform like Drimify, the nuts and bolts of any project you care to start have already been tightened, the nails hammered true, and the structure sound. If we’re going to truly kill this metaphor, you don’t need a toolkit, you don’t even need the free bits and bobs that come with flatpack furniture – the pre-existing game engines available to customise on the Drimify platform just need your ideas, your content, and your graphic design to bring them to life and create professional, effective, and tried-and-tested experiences to engage your audience.

What you do need to be conscious of, however, is exactly how you’re going to utilise these game engines. You need to ask yourself, what do I want from my gamification project? Am I looking to train and educate people? Customers? Students? Employees? Am I trying to capture people’s attention and put eyes on a new product or service? Depending on the answers to these questions, will depend upon whether you’re looking to appeal to people’s appetites for competition, social interaction, discovery, or exploration. This in turn will determine what game mechanics you will look to employ in your project. The game mechanics are really the key features of gamification, and depending on which ones you want to utilise most heavily, will help you decide which game engines to ultimately customise.

Gamification mechanics

These game elements are incorporated to drive the action forward, and provide users with memorable and interactive experiences. Effective gamification rests on emphasising the use of different game mechanics to help generate engagement for different purposes, be they for training, marketing, or creating a dialogue.

Points

Points can be earned when players complete particular tasks and activities. The more they play, the more experience they gain, the more tasks they complete, and the more points they earn, which they may possibly be able to exchange for rewards, either in game or in real life. You can also set up a points system that rewards players with the highest scores.

Badges

Badges are visual indicators of achievement, similar to points, but they offer more flexibility and creativity. For example, players may earn a badge for using a specific feature of a gamified app, or they may earn a badge for completing a specific goal or challenge, or even just for earning X number of points. This mechanism can mark progress, and encourage users to explore all areas of an app, game, or service.

Rewards

Rewards can range from small incentives to highly desirable prizes, and can be presented in the form of virtual currency, physical goods, or a combination of both. These could be won for earning a specific amount of points, for winning a game, or even just for getting lucky in an instant win experience. For example, a virtual reward would be something like earning a KOM crown on Strava for having the fastest time on a specific segment. Though it’s virtual, it’s scarce, and is earned through achievement, so it’s highly desirable.

Rewards with real life value could range from promotional codes that can incentivise purchases, or even grand prizes, which incentivise users to participate in games in the first place – only 1 or 2 people will win a grand prize in a competition, but the possibility of that grand prize plays a big part in encouraging a large number of people to participate.

Levels

For longer-form gamification experiences, you could include levels, or modules, or steps. These add variety to a gamified experience where the aims of your project will take longer to achieve. For example, if you were looking to train or educate a user, different levels allow you to keep them engaged by adding variety, and building on learning materials from level to level. They also allow you to tackle different topics, or approach them from different angles. They can also be used for longer-form marketing experiences, for example, where you’re delivering a series of games to promote a specific holiday.

Ranking

Some target audiences crave competition, and some promotions may just be thematically linked to competition. Allowing users to visualise their performance or progress relative to other players is a great way to encourage repeatability, and motivate them to deliver superior performances. Typically, this can be achieved by introducing a leaderboard.

Progress Bar

Creating the desire to progress and stay motivated is why a progress bar is a key mechanism in gamification. It serves as a visual indicator of how much work and progress has already been made, and engages the player by showing their continued progress in the game. The progress bar also contextualises how close each player is to their next level, goal, or reward.

Progress bars can be especially effective in promoting long-term engagement, for example, when the aim of the experience is learning and training, because they show how much a user stands to lose by quitting. People are more motivated to protect good habits and streaks than they are to start new ones from scratch.

Data collection and calls to action

You won’t necessarily use all of those gamification mechanics in every gamification project, it’ll probably just be 2 or 3 per experience, depending on your aims. However, what you will most likely do for every gamified project, is attempt to collect data, and deliver a call to action (CTA).

All games built on the Drimify platform allow you to include a data collection screen, or even multiple data collection screens to pop up at different stages of the experience. You could include them before, in the middle, or even after, and ask for names, dates of birth, email addresses, phone numbers, and anything else which may be pertinent to your goals. A well-planned experience that delivers some incentive to give details and opt-in to a newsletter is the most effective way to gather customer data. You’re not just begging, you’re delivering some diversion or fun, exposing them to your brand, and drawing them in.

You can also include a call to action on your end screen by customising the copy there. Maybe you want to use the opportunity to direct people to your social media accounts, your strategic web pages, or maybe use it to further educate them around a specific cause or issues.

The different gamification concepts

The Drimify gamification platform, unlike a lot of others, offers a diverse range of game engines that can be used across sectors and business functions. Discover and take advantage of our varied catalogue of games:

• Games: let players express themselves with different mini-games including classics such as Pacman or Connect 4. These can all be customised to your graphics, your copy, and your call to action, and typically work best in a marketing format, although do offer utility in training and education experiences to add variety and reinforce learnings.
• Gamification Experiences: these allow you to create longer, more immersive, multi-level or module experiences by using the Dynamic Path™ format or the Digital Calendar, and also facilitate the creation of a brand narrative.
• Questionnaires: these question and answer games offer utility and efficiencies across a number of areas. Test your customers’ knowledge of your products with a Quiz, or launch a Survey to gather feedback. From an educational or training perspective, the Quiz engine can be used to pose scenarios that allow users to apply knowledge and theory to realistic situations, and also incorporate pop-up content to further knowledge retention.
• Games of chance: instant win games are a popular form of promotional game that rely on chance and luck to reward players, such as the Wheel of Fortune or the Scratch Card game engines.
• Sports Games: whether it’s a Basketball Free Throw Game or a Football Penalty Shootout, these intuitive games can be used to foster competition, put eyes on products, events, and promotions, and reward audiences.

The gamification toolbox, and the master tradesman to talk you through your project

The Drimify games creation platform is the 500-piece pro toolkit for gamification. Everything is at your disposal to create effective, professional and completely customised experiences to reach your business goals. Be completely autonomous and use the gamification platform in self service mode, or discover our different support packages for as much or as little help you need.

Don’t hesitate to contact our DrimTeam if you need advice or help with your gamification project.

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